The present invention relates to communication systems in general. More specifically, the invention relates to techniques for providing targeted advertisements and multimedia contents in a server-centric system.
Over the past few years, the television industry has seen a transformation in a variety of techniques by which its programming is distributed to consumers. Cable television systems are doubling or even tripling system bandwidth with the migration to hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable plant. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) systems have also emerged as a viable alternative to customers unwilling to subscribe to local cable systems. A variety of other approaches have also been attempted, which focus primarily on high bandwidth digital technologies, intelligent two-way set top terminals, or other methods to try to offer services differentiated from those of standard cable and over-the-air broadcast systems.
With the increase in bandwidth, the number of programming choices has increased tremendously. Correspondingly, the number of advertisements and other multimedia contents has also increased. The large amounts of available programming and contents have made it increasingly difficult for a viewer to determine what is available from the system and to intelligently plan viewing.
To assist the viewer with viewing and planning, elaborate systems have been developed to provide an interactive listing of a vast array of channel offerings, expanded textual information about individual programs, and the ability to look forward as much as several weeks in advance to plan television viewing. However, these guide systems generally cover programming selectable by viewers. Advertisements and other multimedia contents are typically not covered by these guide systems so the viewers are often unaware of the types of advertisements being provided. Moreover, the viewers typically have no inputs on the transmission or selection of the advertisements at the terminal. Thus, no means is typically provided to ensure that the advertisements and other multimedia contents are properly targeted to the viewers (e.g., to enhance their effectiveness).
Therefore, techniques to efficiently and effectively deliver targeted advertisements and other multimedia contents to viewers are highly desirable.